Expanded wood lath



J. A. WALLER. EXPANDED WOOD LATH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 22, 1919'.

Patented Aug. 29, 1 922.

77/2/57 l l' -33 %kh omr D we??? v Jo n A: wanna; or marinara]; IE'ARK, rnninois.

To aZZw/zom it may concern: 4 lie it known that l: JOHN A. VVALLER, a

citizen of. the United States residing at Highland Park, Cook County, Illinois, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Expanded Wood Lath, of which the following. is a specification.

My present inventioncis an improvement upon the type of expanded lath shown and described in my Letters Patents Numbers 13141106 and 13141-107, and its object is to eliect further savings of material, to expedite the manufacture and to make other improvements in this form or" lath. W th these obiects in view my invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter described in detail, illustrated. in the accom panying drawing more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a plan view of a section of expanded lath embodying the present improvements. u

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross section of Figure 1. p a

Figure 3 is a similar section showing the parts as they appear prior to the final opera tion on the expanded. board.

Figure 4c is a cross section of the blank prior to its expansion.

In the several views 2 represents the entire board expanded into divergent or con-' vergent and connective ribs. in this body 2 is formed by special machine designed by me for this purpose a series cuts or crushed in depressions 3 and 41 running an gularly relative to each other and widened to produce spaces and ribs 5 and 6. is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 the cuts or depressions 3 and 4 extend. only part way through the entire thickness of the board in which they are formed which thickness is indicated at 7 which also represents connective or major rib which runs parallel to the edges of the board and from which the ribs 5 and 6 diverge or into which they converge as an integral part thereof. The ribs 5, 6 and 7 are rendered separable by making the cuts or depressions in one side of the board and by making in the opposite side of said board a series of parallel cutouts, grooves or channels 8 of sufficient depth to reach the grooves or depressions 3 and 4. so that the latter will extend entirely through the, thus thinned portion of the Specification of L 11;

Application filed November 22, 191.3.

I "Esirennnn weep Lean;

v Pant. Patented se ues, 1322. Serial no. 34093;. i

These thinnedand alternate full thickness portions prior toexpansion are shown in Figure 4. and at which end in or are over the full thickness portions 7 are inoperative as sepa:

rating cuts, whereby the respective ends of the narrower ribs 5 and 6 are held in each i board instead of diagonally as when the ribs corresponding to 5and 6 are substantially parallel to each other. In the latter case the spreading movement will be diagonal to the edges of the board, orcause said edges to move longitudinally in relative opposite directions. This entails a loss of material when the ends of the board 2 are squared after expansion which is obviated in the present improvement, which also makes it possible to expand a board of indefinite width without wastage. v

The by expansion separated ribs 5, 6 and 7 are in the present improvement held in their spaced-apart relations by means of ordinary wire laid transversely across the expanded board and formed to provide their own fastening means, or grips, upon the expanded board. Each of these wires -9 is first bent into the wavy form shown in Figure 3 and then by a rapid machine process bent or curved into a series of U-c shaped portions 10 which engage three sides of the rib 7 as shown in Figure 2. The ll-shaped portions 10 terminate in pinched in humps or. lug portions 11 and 12 which are projected toward each other into the "fiber of the rib 7, formingtherein depressions or recesses 13 and 14 in which the holding portions 11 and '12 are securely held against accidental displacement. This saves the material and labor involved in using separate fasteners such as nails or staples and obviates the liability of such fasteners to become loose in'the more or less rough handling that building material is subjected to.

I claim as my invention 1. A wood lath consisting of a board having therein two series ofparallel saw cuts, one series arranged angularly relative Those portions of the cuts 3 board vthat are opposite the channels SM to the other series and oined at their proximate ends by a connective rib said saw-cuts expanded to form strips of lath, and transverse spaeers for holding said stripsof lath spaced apart having integral grip portions engaged with portions of said board.

2. An expanded. Wood lath that consists of a series of strips'ofrl ath formed by making a roW of parallel and diagonally arranged saw cuts into said board and another similar row ex-ten-ding diagonally in the opposite direction from the first mentioned row, said saw-cuts extending artly through the thickness of the board roin one side thereof, said board having in its opposite side parallel grooves which extend to said saw cuts 'to form separated strips of lath, and transverse spacers each consisting of a single Wire having self contained fastening'means engaged With said Wood lath.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

JOHN A. WVALLER. 

